Using Essential Oils to Eliminate Household Odors

Refresh Your House With Essential Oils

A few months ago our family decided to add homemade bone broth into our daily diet. It was great. We enjoyed incredible tasting beef, chicken and turkey broth. And then we decided to get really creative.

Let me ask you question. What do you get when you slow cook six large sardines (about five inches long) with 12 cups of water in a crockpot for eight hours? The most awful stench you could ever smell. That’s what.

And since we simmered the fish overnight, the smell had hours to permeate through the vents and every last nook and cranny of our entire house. All while we were peacefully asleep in our bedroom. To wake up to that… oh my… that foul odor will forever be branded into my memory.

There was no escape, no matter where I went. I tried to escape to the bathroom, the basement, I even went into the garage but it followed me like a bad habit, mocking my every attempt to break free.

I couldn’t even think about food. Just the thought of eating was enough to make me dry heave. I think you get the point. It was bad and we needed a solution. And we needed it fast! I started by washing the stainless steel crockpot and lid. Three times. But the smell was still there. So I let it air dry for a couple of hours to see if that would help. No luck.

Air Freshener Don’t Do The Trick

Next I tried to use some air freshener to cover up the smell around the house. Big mistake. It briefly masked the fishy stench but shortly afterwards, it all came back with a vengeance. I was reminded of a friend I had back in high school. He thought spraying deodorant on after a sweaty workout was an adequate replacement for a shower. But he was wrong. He needed a solution to the problem, not a method of covering it up. And that solution was the shower. I should have known better myself. Synthetic air freshener was not the solution. I needed something to eliminate the odor, to ERADICATE it once and for all.

So I gagged my way to my dining room cabinet and eagerly grabbed my case of essential oils. That case had to hold the solution to ending this mess once and for all.

How To Make an Air Refresher Made of Essential Oils?

I remembered that lemon essential oil was known for its strong, cleansing scent and how it was quite versatile as a cleaning agent too. So I ran a sink full of water with a larger-than-normal amount of a dish soap and four drops of lemon essential oil. I chunked the lid and crockpot into the sink and let it soak for three hours straight.

The real task came next. I needed a powerful blend of oils to make my house liveable again. I searched for several essential oil recipes that could handle the task and finally found one that was up to the job.

What You Need

3 Drops of Lemon Essential Oil

3 Drops of Lime Essential Oil

2 Drops of Siberian Fir Needle Essential Oil

2 Drops of Australian Fir Needle Essential Oil

4 Drops of Pine Needle Essential Oil

2 drops of Citronella Grass Essential Oil

3 drops of Melaleuca Leaf Essential Oil

2 drops of Cilantro Herb Essential Oil

Diffuser (or in my case, three of them)

What You Do

Nothing complicated about this. Just fill a diffuser with water and add the drops of essential oils. Let it run continuously until you can no longer smell the odor you’re trying to eliminate.

Since it was literally ALL OVER my house, I had three diffusers running. I placed them near the vents in my home and turned my furnace’s fan on to help circulate the blend. After about three to four hours my nose finally achieved some relief. Two hours and a bit afterwards and the stench was completely gone. Not masked. But Gone. Yay essential oils!

I’m also happy to report my crockpot and lid were not permanently infused with the smell. The lemon oil did its job perfectly as I had hoped. I’m glad too because that appliance cost me well over $120. But let me tell you, if I had been unsuccessful in getting that smell out, in the trash it would have gone!

In Closing

I would not wish my “fishy” experience on anyone. But if you happen to find yourself in a stinky place and are wondering what might be the best way to take care of it, then look no further than essential oils. The blend I shared with you is splendid. And I have found many other uses for it since – from smelly diaper pails, to old garbage cans and even lingering bathroom blowouts. Take it from me. Nothing works better!

About the author

Sally Wong

Sally Wong is a manual therapist for about 15 years now and also a massage specialist. She is actively taking care of her body to stay healthy and in shape by doing Yoga and Tai Chi. She has a lot of knowledge and interest in Essential Oils because of her Oriental background. She learnt many things from her Grandmother. Originally from a small village in South China, now she lives in Vancouver, Canada.